What will gray vendors do to compete with new highly reduced prices for US GLP drugs?

[AndyPanda]

Can they survive with $150 a month name brand drugs? I get that it’s still a little cheaper to go with gray, but they will need to compete.

 

[mraajr]

When you can buy ten 30 mg vials for around that price, I think the grey vendors will be just fine. There are a few single vial vendors in the U.S where you can get five vials for that price. For most people $150 a month extra is a lot.

The only thing Big Pharma has on the grey market is that there is a relatively large percentage of the population that does not have the same willingness to accept risk that a lot of us do. That will cause them to pay the $150 rather than buy grey. The other reason most people do not buy grey is because they simply do not know that market exists.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

It will be 150 for the oral meds.

Shots will be 350.

 

[FNG33]

Tirzepatide price in the article is still 3000% more then gray a month based upon a 10mg dose. Chinese vendors will be fine. Compounding may take a hit.

 

[byefatlicia]

Grey market prices will continue to fall at the same rate they are now. This certainly won't hurt them. The more the word is spread about grey, the more volume they'll get.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

Tirzepatide price in the article is still 3000% more then gray a month based upon a 10mg dose. Chinese vendors will be fine. Compounding may take a hit.

Good! Compounding should take a hit. These telehealhealths are basically printing money this stuff is so expensive. I have a couple thousand invested in compound, and you have no idea how happy I am to get Grey market vials. It hasn't happened yet, but im here and learning.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

@Gr33dyOctopus I took about 15 months to make the jump but I’m risk avoidant. Risk avoidant, hahahahaha. But seriously, a dot the i’s type of person. The markup on this is batshit crazy, and it keeps multiplying out. One month retail could cover a full year (depending)?

Inhuman is another word. There are others.

 

[basedpepbae]

@Gr33dyOctopus I took about 15 months to make the jump but I’m risk avoidant. Risk avoidant, hahahahaha. But seriously, a dot the i’s type of person. The markup on this is batshit crazy, and it keeps multiplying out. One month retail could cover a full year (depending)?

Inhuman is another word. There are others.

I’m the opposite. Placed my first order with Brello and discovered grey like 3 days later lol. I’m glad I found it though, I doubt my husband would have appreciated me jumping into grey at first with no prior glp1 experience.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

@Gr33dyOctopus I took about 15 months to make the jump but I’m risk avoidant. Risk avoidant, hahahahaha. But seriously, a dot the i’s type of person. The markup on this is batshit crazy, and it keeps multiplying out. One month retail could cover a full year (depending)?

Inhuman is another word. There are others.

Seriously. I have a stockpile, but will have my Grey market tirz and reta waaaaayyyy before I run out. So no hurry, haha but not waiting 15 mo ths either!! 😆😅🤣

 

[FNG33]

Good! Compounding should take a hit. These telehealhealths are basically printing money this stuff is so expensive. I have a couple thousand invested in compound, and you have no idea how happy I am to get Grey market vials. It hasn't happened yet, but im here and learning.

You can't compare the two. One is either falling of a truck, going out the back door, some little workshop like thise video of manufacturing in India. The US pharmacy has to buy from an FDA approved supplier and an FDA inspected lab to produce the stuff all while deal with US labor, rent, and all sorts of business taxes. These all ads up to massive costs the consumer must pay.
I guarantee you the CN smugglers are making a higher % on the stuff we buy vs any compounding pharmacy. I they make money yes, why else go into business? They aren't makes money based upon what you pay a CN chemical supplier. Your comparing 🍎 to Fords.

 

[YoYoFat]

You can't compare the two. One is either falling of a truck, going out the back door, some little workshop like thise video of manufacturing in India. The US pharmacy has to buy from an FDA approved supplier and an FDA inspected lab to produce the stuff all while deal with US labor, rent, and all sorts of business taxes. These all ads up to massive costs the consumer must pay.
I guarantee you the CN smugglers are making a higher % on the stuff we buy vs any compounding pharmacy. I they make money yes, why else go into business? They aren't makes money based upon what you pay a CN chemical supplier. You’re comparing 🍎 to Fords.

The entire premise of your argument is flawed because this is just not accurate. The FDA does not go to China to inspect FDA approved API manufacturers there, nor does the FDA inspect compounding pharmacies here in the U.S. Compounding products are not FDA approved. At best, the pharmacies are inspected by regulators in the state in which they’re located; but that usually only happens once, at licensure, if ever.

 

[ostrichsak]

The entire premise of your argument is flawed because this is just not accurate. The FDA does not go to China to inspect FDA approved API manufacturers there, nor does the FDA inspect compounding pharmacies here in the U.S. Compounding products are not FDA approved. At best, the pharmacies are inspected by regulators in the state in which they’re located; but that usually only happens once, at licensure, if ever.

...and somehow compounding pharmacies are STILL inspected more than pharma production facilities. The stats behind how many have failed and/or just haven't been tested in years and years in any meaningful way is eye-opening. Makes me feel pretty good about my overly-tested (based on modern big pharma protocols) gray market peps.

 

[YoYoFat]

...and somehow compounding pharmacies are STILL inspected more than pharma production facilities. The stats behind how many have failed and/or just haven't been tested in years and years in any meaningful way is eye-opening. Makes me feel pretty good about my overly-tested (based on modern big pharma protocols) gray market peps.

Depends on the state. Some compounding pharmacies are never inspected until there is a critical mass of customer complaints. FDA approved manufacturing facilities of finished products (e.g., EL’s manufacturing facilities overseas) are inspected, as are the retail pharmacies that distribute FDA approved products.

It’s the compound API manufacturers and compound pharmacies that aren’t. Essentially, low chance that any facility in the chain of manufacturing and distribution of compound is ever inspected. Not much different than grey.

 

[FNG33]

The entire premise of your argument is flawed because this is just not accurate. The FDA does not go to China to inspect FDA approved API manufacturers there, nor does the FDA inspect compounding pharmacies here in the U.S. Compounding products are not FDA approved. At best, the pharmacies are inspected by regulators in the state in which they’re located; but that usually only happens once, at licensure, if ever.

Never said the FDA goes to China, read it again. But those are just examples for explaining added bureaucracy.
Point remains a licensed US pharmacy has a ton more exposure and cost of doing business to operate than a CN chemical "exporter".

 

[Cassie MKM]

When you can buy ten 30 mg vials for around that price, I think the grey vendors will be just fine. There are a few single vial vendors in the U.S where you can get five vials for that price. For most people $150 a month extra is a lot.

The only thing Big Pharma has on the grey market is that there is a relatively large percentage of the population that does not have the same willingness to accept risk that a lot of us do. That will cause them to pay the $150 rather than buy grey. The other reason most people do not buy grey is because they simply do not know that market exists.

In fact, it can be done through a platform, which is safer

 

[ostrichsak]

Depends on the state. Some compounding pharmacies are never inspected until there is a critical mass of customer complaints. FDA approved manufacturing facilities of finished products (e.g., EL’s manufacturing facilities overseas) are inspected, as are the retail pharmacies that distribute FDA approved products.

It’s the compound API manufacturers and compound pharmacies that aren’t. Essentially, low chance that any facility in the chain of manufacturing and distribution of compound is ever inspected. Not much different than grey.

I was being a tad facetious since you said never but I knew what I said when I said it.

The reality is that your stance that pharmaceutical production/distro is regularly FDA inspected is simply inaccurate. It's kind of a big deal that nobody is talking about currently. My guess is because it would likely damage the way people trust their medications. Rightly so.

What's supposed to happen and what actually happens are two entirely different things.

I don't have the time to cite sources but you can easily find plenty of trustworthy outlets supporting this if you want some light reading. Here's an AI summary though that does a good job of summarizing the large points:



AI Overview:
Reports indicate that thousands of drug manufacturing facilities have not been inspected by the FDA in years, a backlog exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
. This situation has occurred due to a halt in non-critical inspections during the pandemic and is compounded by a shortage of experienced FDA inspectors, who have left the agency for better-paying jobs in the private sector. While the FDA says the U.S. drug supply remains safe, challenges persist in addressing the inspection backlog, especially for overseas facilities in countries like China and India that supply many drug ingredients.

• Backlog: Thousands of drug manufacturing plants globally have not been inspected for five or more years, with a backlog of nearly 2,000 facilities noted in analyses of FDA data.
• Pandemic Impact: The pandemic forced the FDA to halt all but the most urgent inspections, which led to a significant drop in inspections of both domestic and foreign facilities, a decline that has not yet fully recovered.
• Staffing Issues: A major contributing factor is a shortage of experienced FDA investigators. Many have left the agency for private-sector jobs, and the FDA is struggling to fill vacant positions.
• Risk Concerns: Facilities overdue for inspections are considered a significant risk for contamination and poor quality.
• Global Supply Chain: A large percentage of these overdue inspections are for facilities overseas, particularly in China and India, which are major suppliers of ingredients for U.S. drugs.
  [*]FDA Response: The FDA states that it is working to address the backlog and maintain the safety of the U.S. drug supply, while also using a risk-based approach to inspections and collaborating with international regulators

To bring this back to the topic, I trust my gray market pharmaceuticals more since I can buy them cheap, send some off for independent testing and know exactly what's in them. When's the last time someone took their medication to have independently testing? The answer is almost never because the FDA is supposed to have our collective backs. So what happens when it doesn't?

 

[YoYoFat]

I was being a tad facetious since you said never but I knew what I said when I said it.

The reality is that your stance that pharmaceutical production/distro is regularly FDA inspected is simply inaccurate. It's kind of a big deal that nobody is talking about currently. My guess is because it would likely damage the way people trust their medications. Rightly so.

What's supposed to happen and what actually happens are two entirely different things.

I don't have the time to cite sources but you can easily find plenty of trustworthy outlets supporting this if you want some light reading. Here's an AI summary though that does a good job of summarizing the large points:



AI Overview:
Reports indicate that thousands of drug manufacturing facilities have not been inspected by the FDA in years, a backlog exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
. This situation has occurred due to a halt in non-critical inspections during the pandemic and is compounded by a shortage of experienced FDA inspectors, who have left the agency for better-paying jobs in the private sector. While the FDA says the U.S. drug supply remains safe, challenges persist in addressing the inspection backlog, especially for overseas facilities in countries like China and India that supply many drug ingredients.

• Backlog: Thousands of drug manufacturing plants globally have not been inspected for five or more years, with a backlog of nearly 2,000 facilities noted in analyses of FDA data.
• Pandemic Impact: The pandemic forced the FDA to halt all but the most urgent inspections, which led to a significant drop in inspections of both domestic and foreign facilities, a decline that has not yet fully recovered.
• Staffing Issues: A major contributing factor is a shortage of experienced FDA investigators. Many have left the agency for private-sector jobs, and the FDA is struggling to fill vacant positions.
• Risk Concerns: Facilities overdue for inspections are considered a significant risk for contamination and poor quality.
• Global Supply Chain: A large percentage of these overdue inspections are for facilities overseas, particularly in China and India, which are major suppliers of ingredients for U.S. drugs.
  [*]FDA Response: The FDA states that it is working to address the backlog and maintain the safety of the U.S. drug supply, while also using a risk-based approach to inspections and collaborating with international regulators

To bring this back to the topic, I trust my gray market pharmaceuticals more since I can buy them cheap, send some off for independent testing and know exactly what's in them. When's the last time someone took their medication to have independently testing? The answer is almost never because the FDA is supposed to have our collective backs. So what happens when it doesn't?

I literally work in an area involving FDA regulation. You, on the other hand, are relying on AI to argue against something I didn’t even say.

I simply said facilities that manufacture FDA approved medications, and the pharmacies that dispense them, are FDA regulated and inspected. They are. That’s a fact. Whether they’re “regularly” inspected (that’s YOUR word, not mine) is another question.

And as for “never,” still true. Many compounding pharmacies are NEVER inspected UNTIL there is a critical mass of complaints. That’s also true.

Take a breath and read more before arguing with people.

 

[YoYoFat]

To bring this back to the topic, I trust my gray market pharmaceuticals more since I can buy them cheap, send some off for independent testing and know exactly what's in them. When's the last time someone took their medication to have independently testing? The answer is almost never because the FDA is supposed to have our collective backs. So what happens when it doesn't?

It’s been done. EL product came back as less pure than the typical grey market product. But you’ve been here a whole… what… 7 days? So I also understand that you wouldn’t know that.

 

[ostrichsak]

I literally work in an area involving FDA regulation. You, on the other hand, are relying on AI to argue against something I didn’t even say.

I simply said facilities that manufacture FDA approved medications, and the pharmacies that dispense them, are FDA regulated and inspected. They are. That’s a fact. Whether they’re “regularly” inspected (that’s YOUR word, not mine) is another question.

And as for “never,” still true. Many compounding pharmacies are NEVER inspected UNTIL there is a critical mass of complaints. That’s also true.

Take a breath and read more before arguing with people.

Oh, I see. You have a vested interest in discrediting what I'm saying. It now makes sense. I'm sure that everything involving big pharma is on the up-and-up in that case. Nothing to see here.

 

[hexagonal]

Oh, I see. You have a vested interest in discrediting what I'm saying. It now makes sense. I'm sure that everything involving big pharma is on the up-and-up in that case. Nothing to see here.

YYF is very far from an industry shill lol

 

[AndyPanda]

I'm sure that everything involving big pharma is on the up-and-up in that case. Nothing to see here.

Like those “super safe and necessary vaccines” that were forced on everyone a couple of years ago. I don’t trust them even a little bit. About as much as the government. I hear what you are saying. Don’t let them bother you.